Graduation
by apollogirl7
Summary: "It's not like you can never come back, Sophie." Archer came toward me and pulled me into a hug. "I know, but, ugh, I don't know," I mumbled. "It just won't be the same." It's graduation time for the Hex Hall crew. Review please. SPOILERS to all books.
1. Chapter 1

** I finished **_**Spell Bound**_** about a week ago. I could not put it down. I love these books so much. Anyway, this is a short, possible two-shot, but probable one-shot of Graduation and some Sophie/Archer fluff. Spoilers from the whole series! You have been warned! Enjoy. **

** These characters belong to Rachel Hawkins. **

"Sophie, are you ready yet?" Mom pounded on my door. Well, it would only be my door for the next few hours, as I would be graduating and leaving Hex Hall for the last time. I looked around my dorm room. All mine and Jenna's stuff was packed away, ready for the big move out of here. Jenna would be going to live in a coven. I would be heading off to college and then put in charge of all prodigium as Head of the Council.

And I was scared shitless.

"Not yet!" I yelled. As usual, my hair was the problem. This was one of the biggest days of my life – so far – and it could not be ruined by the frizziest hair of the century.

"I could use a little help," I mumbled. Just as I figured, Elodie appeared out of thin air.

She smirked. "This would be more amusing if today I weren't going to say good-bye." Elodie and I were on good terms finally. While we weren't particularly friendly all the time, we had a bond from so many shared experiences that neither of us could ignore the fact that this was it. The end.

"I'll do my best," she said. Soon I felt her presence inside me. Even though I made her promise to not possess me ever again, today was necessary. After I released Elodie from our weird magical tie, one that kept her bound to me all last year, we hadn't been able to do the whole, possessing thing. But we figured out a way to make it work.

With a possession spell. Major duh…

When my hair was fixed in a perfect style, neat bun and tendril curls in front of my face, she left me. "Thank you," I said.

There was a knock at the door.

"Who's there?" I asked.

A deep voice responded, "Al."

"Al who?" I asked.

"Al give you a kiss if you open the door."

I giggled as I opened the door and saw Archer standing there in his graduation gown. He looked hot, as usual. And mature. Which was unusual for him. His hair was neatly combed, yet still had its natural curl, and his deep brown eyes sparkled when he saw me.

"You do realize that was the corniest joke ever, right?" I asked, leaning forward and hugging him around the waist. I rested my cheek against his chest and took a deep breath. Archer still smelled amazing.

"Not if I was being serious." He leaned down and our lips met. It was a sweet kiss, one that was kind of cutesy and innocent. But then it deepened. His hands moved up my back from my hips and he pushed me against the open door. I could taste his breath, and then his hands moved down to my butt. I started to giggle.

"What?" he asked, pulling back. He was breathing heavy, almost panting.

"Nothing, it's just I didn't want to get too caught up and miss the ceremony." I pushed up on my toes and kissed his cheek. "We can start where we left off later. We have all summer for that."

He smirked. "Alright, Mercer. And this time, I'll make sure it's in a castle."

"That aside," I said. "How do I look?" I had made a dress especially for graduation, though no one would see it under my gown. Hecate had this theme of blue, black, and green for our uniforms, so our graduation gowns and caps were dark blue. Mine was laid across Jenna's bed at the moment; I stroked the fabric. I was afraid to put it on.

As much as I'd disliked Hex Hall when I first came, the place definitely grew on me. It was where I met Jenna, and Archer, and Elodie, and Cal. I'd learned so many things, gone on so many adventures. It was like my second home. But now it was just my last school.

"It's not like you can never come back, Sophie." Archer came toward me and pulled me into a hug.

"I know, but, I don't know," I mumbled. "It just won't be the same."

"Well, on the bright side, no more cellar duty."

I smirked.

"But still plenty of werewolves to chase me down." Then we said at the same time, "BAD DOG!"

"Are you two ready? We have ten minutes, Sophie, and then you're on for your speech." Jenna walked into the room.

"Come here, Jenna," I called. Archer and I pulled her into the hug. "I love you guys."

Five minutes later, I was standing outside the large ballroom/dining hall. Lined up behind me were all my fellow classmates who would be graduating. As Valedictorian, I was stuck with leading them all forward, between the crowd of students and teachers and parents, and then as everyone took their seats, I would keep walking to the front stage and address the crowd with a speech.

I gulped.

But before I could even wipe the sweat from my palms, we were marching. I saw my dad and mom, and the Brannick girls, Vix, and all the Council members. The Vandy scowled, but it lightened a bit as she gave us a nod of approval. Archer, who was only a few people behind me in line, ran up and kissed me before taking his seat. I then made my way to the stage.

_Here you go, Sophie, don't make a fool of yourself._

At the podium, I took a long shaky breath and looked out over all the people. I reached into my sleeve and pulled out the folded sheet of paper that contained my speech. I unfolded it, smoothed the wrinkles, and began.

"When I first came to Hecate, I wasn't very excited. At the time, Hex Hall, as we have all come to call it, was like a prison to me. I didn't know what to expect. Upon arriving, I still wasn't thrilled or impressed. The building, don't get me started on how this place looked about two years ago." I gave a short, breathy laugh. "And the people," I looked down at Justin, and then Archer. "They kind of freaked me out.

"I didn't grow up in the magical like most of the other kids. I was terrified at the idea of rooming with shape shifters, or werewolves, or vampires." I winked at Jenna, who gave me a smirk and then a scowl. "But this place grew on me. And I couldn't be more thankful for all this place has taught me.

"I wasn't expecting to find someone who would be my best friend, or my boyfriend. I learned self-defense, and how to make a beautiful dress. I also learned how not to get caught using a spell that did your homework for you…" that got a laugh from the audience. "But I also learned who I am."

I sighed. "When I first came here, I was convinced that I was nothing but a witch in trouble. The more time I spent here, whether looking for a murdered, or trying to pass Mr. Byron's obnoxious poetry quizzes, the more I began to understand what I was here for.

"I didn't know that my dad was the Head of the Council. Or that someday that would be my destiny. And I will admit that it scares me a little. But I can't help but feel sad that I'm leaving this place. Hecate has become my home. And I'm sure many of my fellow graduating classmates would agree. This place is more than just a school to us. It's the best experience for any of our kind. All kinds. And I can't believe I'm admitting this, but I will miss Hex Hall and all the adventures I had along the way.

"So, in conclusion, to the graduating class…thank you for the adventure. I know it was rough, but look at where we are." I held my hands out. "We are graduating the _best_ school for our kind in the world. And we made it this far together.

"To the parent and teachers, thanks for getting us here and letting us become who we are. Everything we became is because of you. Thank you." Applause echoed around the large room, and my head spun. I smiled at everyone, got a wink from my dad and from Archer; a thumbs up from Jenna; and a smiling, crying mom giving a standing ovation.

The rest happened in a blur. I watched as Jenna, Archer, Taylor, Beth, and a few of my other classmates go up and get their diplomas. When my name was called, the Vandy handed the diploma to me, shook my other hand a bit too hard, and then whispered, "That a girl, Mercer."

Whatever happened after, I'm not sure. But when it was all done, and most of the people were waiting in the main foyer for the dining room to be cleared for the reception, I decided to take one last stroll through the halls. Many people congratulated me as I made my way to the first set of stairs. I smiled and thanked them, my eyes scanning the crowd for Archer. He saw me and smiled. I waved for him to follow me, but he shook his head and nodded for me to go on.

At the third floor, I walked the empty halls, looking at everything and trying to memorize it. Why was I so distraught by the idea of leaving? How much of an impact did this silly school have on me? I laughed.

Down the hall, by the window, I saw a figure begin to appear. At first I thought it was Elodie, but then the shape became bigger and manlier. It was Cal. I waved at him and he waved back. He'd done a great job over the last year making this place look nice. His death created healing. Although he couldn't speak, I could understand when he mouthed, "Good speech." He then disappeared.

At the reception, I sat with my parents, Jenna, and Archer. We all laughed and shared stories of our experiences here. I told about some of the more ridiculous things Archer and got into in the cellar. Like the time we put on these rings that made our hands stick together. Or how Jenna and I snuck down one night and ate a whole bunch of ice cream. We ate and laughed and smiled. It felt so good, like the family was all here.

Then everything was gone. The cleanup spell was put on the room, and everything was being picked up. Most of the others had left so it was just the five of us.

"So, now what?" I asked.

"We go home…?" Jenna said. Her lip quivered. This is where we would say good-bye for a while. Even though I knew we'd be seeing each other in the next few months, it was still hard to give her a hug. I started to cry, and my tears dripped on her shoulder.

Then she was gone.

As the four of us left the school, I resisted the urge to look back. I would come here again. Someday. Maybe even to see my own kids off.

Archer took my hand as we headed to the car. We climbed in the back as mom and dad got in front. I fell asleep at some point after the ferry ride off of Graymalkin Island. My head rested on Archer's chest. He stroked my hair gently the whole time.

We stopped somewhere to get gas when Archer woke me up. He made some joke about dad having gas and I giggled. We reached the airport a few hours later, leaving from Atlanta. We flew to New York, and then to London.

After a flight like that, again I slept. Dad's new house was big enough for us all, so I was completely relaxed and just at the point of dreaming, when Archer jumped on my bed. "Ready for a real date?"

I got dressed in something other than traveling clothes. I figured a pair of dark jeans and my Hecate sweatshirt would work. We waved to my parents, who were in the kitchen, talking. I caught a quick grin from my dad and a goofy grin from my mom.

Archer swung his hands between us as we walked close together down the busy street. I felt so free. We could really be together now. No Eye, or Casnoffs. We didn't have the silly school curfews.

"What's happening for college?" I asked him.

"Wherever you go, I'll follow. I said I would never leave you and I meant it."

"Good," I said.

We made our way to a park in the city. We talked about all this stuff, yet I don't really remember any of it. Because when we reached a small pond in the middle of the park, Archer and I sat down on a bench and watched the birds coo around our feet.

"What about your future, huh Mercer?" Archer hugged my shoulders.

"I'm going to college, you know that. And then I'll be Head of the Council. What else is there?"

"Oh, I don't know. I'm sure other things will come up." He smiled with a mischievous twinkle in his brown eyes. I raised an eyebrow as he climbed off the bench and pulled me up with him. Before we walked anywhere though, he dropped my hands and reached into his jacket pocket.

I gasped when he pulled a small box out of the pocket. And almost squealed when he went down on one knee. Archer looked up at me, smirking, and said, "Now, I'm not gonna try to make this all corny and stupid. But it will probably come out that way anyway. So, Sophia Alice Mercer, I love you more than anyone or anything in the world. Would you please do me the honor of marrying me?" He opened the box and held it out toward me. The ring was gorgeous; it had a tiny diamond in the center, surrounded by many tiny and colorful gems. The closer I looked, I noticed that in each of the stones was a tiny moving picture, one showing a different experience we had together. Our first meeting. Our first kiss.

After a long moment, I broke out in a huge grin.

"Yes, I will marry you."

**Review please. I will right more if that's what ya'll want. Enjoy your Easter!**


	2. Chapter 2

Graduation Update:

Hey everyone, I just wanted to say thanks so much for all the reviews. I did want to write more for this fic, but never really had a solid game plan. I know it's been quite a while since this was written, but I am still getting reviews every so often (somehow up to 39! THANKS). So here's what I will do: if you have an idea for what you want me to write the next part of this story on or any other brainstorm ideas, I may continue this with a few more chapters or even a complete story. I am in college now, so you'll have to be patient for updates, but I think continuing this would be a great way to distract me from school.

SOOOO…either send me a private message or even just suggest something on a review here. I will see what I can do.

Thanks again for all the love! -Missy (apollogirl7)


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